Gardening in a Changing Climate, by Brian Waters
After another hot summer and severe autumn storms, it was fitting that we heard from former Environment Agency employee Brian Waters about how to deal with changes in our seasons.
He explained that climate change affected all aspects of gardening including growing conditions and biodiversity of plants, animals and insects.
With the aid of graphs, he showed us how the average temperatures in the UK have been rising steadily since 1940 with an increase in the number of days where the average temperature was over 28C.
Carbon dioxide concentration is up too, alongside an excessive build-up of greenhouse gases. This all affects rainfall. Brian told us how gases in the atmosphere held more energy and water which in turn lead to temperature rises.
He highlighted some alarming trends which will affect us all. Targets on emissions world-wide are predicted to be missed so we are looking at more hotter and dryer summers with droughts. This will lead to an increase in new pests and diseases and more wildfires. Fires were reported this summer even in urban areas with the fast spread of flames leading to damaged homes.
Fewer frosts mean an increase in fungal diseases and the increased energy in the atmosphere means more storms which could lead to more leeching of the soil in our gardens.
Brian, a member of Quorn Gardening Club, recommended developing shade where you can by planting trees and even using artificial cover. He showed us how to shade plants in a raised bed using mesh and admitted he may give up his greenhouse because the conditions inside were just too hot.
The UK is doing well in reducing emissions, having become the first major economy to halve its greenhouse gas emissions compared to 1990 levels. Our country is, on some days, producing 80% of energy from renewable sources.
He told us many things we may already have noticed – flowers in our garden are blooming earlier and there’s changes to our wildlife. We are now seeing egrets, birds which used to stay put in southern Europe during the winter. Hedgehog numbers are declining dramatically.
Brian had some advice on how to combat these changes. Water is a precious commodity in drought conditions. He recommended using grey water on our gardens (from showers, baths, washing up and washing machines) with some gardeners setting up piping systems to syphon off this water.
Avoiding gardening on a slope was another tip to stop water draining away. Selecting plants which are drought tolerant in summer and don’t mind sitting in wet soil in the winter is ideal. Brian said there may be a time when cactus plants could live outside all year round. He said there was hope on the horizon with plant breeders producing varieties which will tolerate these new conditions. A few plant types he mentioned were sunflower Garden Statement, Maris Bard potatoes and begonia Santa Cruz.
Swift bricks, building ponds, helping hedgehogs, planting wildflowers, keeping scruffy areas in our garden, promoting healthy soil and dense planting could also help.
Sadly, the biodiversity of birds, mammals and insects are on the decline because of loss of habitat but Brian left us with the hope that our gardens could be a rare sanctuary for wildlife.